Three Aliens, Three Humans, and a Baby
by Wendymypooh
Summary: The moment for Liz and Max's baby to be born has arrived.


Liz Evans shifted restlessly on the bed beside her sleeping husband. She rolled carefully onto her side, wincing as she did so. She willed sleep to pull her under again, but instead, it eluded her. She sighed and opened her eyes.

Her and Max's bedroom was filled with a purplish-gray light. Dawn was still an hour or two away. Too early to get up and make breakfast. Everyone else was still asleep and she didn't want to wake them up. Being in one place for as long as they had was risking all of them. Yet no one complained because it was important that her and Max's child arrived safely.

That child was pressing hard on her bladder right at that moment. She struggled to raise her cumbersome body into an upright position. She gasped as intense pain lanced through her swollen abdomen. She gritted her teeth and waited for the discomfort to ease.

A contraction. Even though she'd never felt one before, she recognized it for what it was. But it was too early for her to be having them. She still had about six weeks to go until her due date.

Maybe it was Braxton Hicks. The literature Isabel had gotten from the local hospital had described them. Perhaps that what she was having.  
When the pain ended, she splayed her fingers over her stomach. "Little One was that just a nudge to remind me you're in there or are you planning on making an appearance soon?"

Her child's answer was swift and painful. This contraction was twice as intense as the first. Liz bit down on her bottom lip to keep from crying out. She fisted her hands into the blankets and waited for it to ease.

When it had, she felt even more pressure in her groin. She really had to pee. She slid her legs over the side of the bed and gingerly lifted herself into an upright position beside it.

She made it no more than three feet away from the bed when another contraction struck. She cried out and doubled over, clasping an arm protectively around her abdomen. A flood of liquid warmth exploded out of her nether regions and puddled on the hard floor around her bare feet.

"Max!"

He came instantly awake. She watched as his head turned immediately toward her side of the bed. When he found it empty, she saw him glance widely around until they settled on her. "What's wrong? Is it our baby?"

"My water just broke." Liz gasped out, as another contraction hit her.

Max was instantly by her side, holding her hand, rubbing her back, and coaching her through it using the breathing treatment they'd used in their practice labor classes.

He held up his free hand toward their closed bedroom door. He focused his power and the door floor open with a bang. There were the subsequent sounds of two other doors in the house crashing open, followed by the startled exclamations of their roommates. Max knew it wouldn't be long before he and Liz were joined by the others who would demand to know what was going on.

"Let's get you back to bed." Max started to turn her toward the bed, being careful not to step into the glutinous puddle covering Liz's feet and around them.

"No, Max!" Liz protested. "I'm sticky, wet, and feel gross. Please help me into the bathroom so I can take a shower."

"You taking a shower is out of the question," Max said firmly. "You could slip or fall and that wouldn't be good for you or our baby."

"Please Max," Liz pleaded with him.

"All right," Max agreed. "But no shower. We'll get you washed you up and into a fresh nightgown before getting you settling into bed again.  
Liz nodded in relief as he guided her into their adjoining bathroom. He turned the water on in the bathtub, before helping her out of her soiled nightgown. He soaked a washrag in the warm water, lathered it up with soap, and then tenderly washed the gelatinous liquid off his wife's lower extremities.  
He'd just wrapped a towel around her when he felt the muscles in her abdomen clench as another contraction hit.

"Oh, God!" Liz cried out, latching onto Max for strength as together they waited out the contraction.

He settled her onto the toilet once it had passed. "You going to be okay long enough for me to grab you a clean nightgown?"

"Yeah…just don't take too long," Liz told him.

Max hurried back into the bedroom and was extracting a nightgown from a drawer when the others entered his and Liz's bedroom.

"Maxwell, what's with the banging door routine? You trying to give us all heart attacks?" Michael scowled at him.

"Yeah, what's going on?' Kyle rubbed his tired eyes.

Maria scanned the room looking for Liz. "Where's Liz?"

"She's in labor, isn't she?" Isabel guessed.

"Yes. " Max rejoined Liz in their bathroom.

"Kyle, get the plastic sheeting out of the hall closet, along with some towels. Michael, go chop some ice for Liz. She's going to need it to stay hydrated."  
Both men did as she instructed, while Isabel and Maria began preparing the room for the upcoming arrival of Max and Liz's baby. Isabel stripped the bed and placed the plastic sheeting over it that Kyle gave to her. A couple of the towels she threw over the puddle on the floor.

While Isabel was tending to the bed, Maria began readying the various medical apparatus they had accumulated over the past several months, in preparation for this day to arrive. A stethoscope, hand-held Doppler, blood pressure cuff, and thermometer went on one tray. On the other, she placed a speculum, forceps, scalpel, scissors, hemostat, sponge holders, alcohol, cotton balls, amnihook, ammonia inhalants, etc.

Isabel had taken a crash course in midwifery, attending several classes with a local midwife under an assumed identity. She'd brought home anatomy charts, medical textbooks, lists for all the medical and surgical utensils needed, etc. Together she and Max had studied everything from prenatal care to emergency preparedness, using their ability to scan vast information and then store it in their minds. Even Michael read the Emergency Preparedness course material, deeming it necessary information that he needed to know.

"Breathe in, breathe out." Max coached Liz as they paused in the bathroom doorway.

Liz squeezed his hand and tried to breathe as Max told her to. The contractions were becoming increasingly painful and closer together.  
Tears sprang into her eyes. She wished her mom was there. She missed her so much. Never in her life had she ever imagined having a baby without her mom close by.

"Liz?"

She blinked her eyes and saw that not only Max but Isabel and Maria were watching her with concerned expressions on their faces.

"I'm okay." She told them.

None of them believed her for a moment but didn't press her for an explanation about why she was crying.

"Let's get you settled on the bed, so we can exam you," Isabel said, moving to Liz's other side. "How long have you been having contractions and how far apart are they?"

"About an hour since I became aware of them. " Liz said as Max and Maria helped her get settled into a comfortable position on the bed so Isabel could do a psychical exam. "And about two or three minutes?"

She looked at Max to see if he agreed.

"Closer to two minutes." He told his sister.

"I'll be as gentle as I can, Liz," Isabel said as she reached for the speculum.

"Focus on me," Max whispered, knowing that these exams were always painful for her.

Liz locked eyes with him, wincing only a little bit as Isabel performed the physical exam, while Maria recorded Liz and her baby's stats.

"Liz, you are already dilated to five centimeters," Isabel revealed to her, Max, and Maria. You're your contractions stay as intense and close together as they are right now, my niece or nephew is going be born in a few short hours."

"We'll be ready for him or her," Max stated confidently, gazing lovingly down into Liz's upturned face.

"We will be." Liz agreed, although with a little less confidence than what Max was exhibiting.

Another contraction hit her, and she didn't have any time to think about anything but breathing through it. She held tightly to Max's hand and listened to his calm voice as he coached her.

"How's Liz doing?" Michael asked as he brought in the pitcher of ice chips and a cup and spoon on a tray.

"I'm okay." Liz smiled at him from the bed.

"Good." Michael handed the tray to Maria and turned to leave the room.

"I'll be right back," Max told Liz reassuringly. "I need to ask Michael something."

Liz nodded as she gladly accepted a cup of ice chips and a spoon from Isabel. She spooned some ice into her mouth and savored the icy coolness against her tongue.

Max followed Michael out into the hallway. Before he could say anything, Michael turned toward him.  
"Relax Maxwell, Kyle and I have security under control."

"Thanks."

"Go take care of Liz."

Max nodded and went back into his and Liz's bedroom. Security was always a concern for them. They never knew how close the FBI Special Unit was in catching up to them. They'd had a few near missed over the year and a half since they left Roswell, but so far, they'd managed to stay ahead of their hunters. With Liz's ability to see flashes of their future, and Kyle's newly developed power to sense danger around them, they were able to better evade the Special Unit.  
This was the longest time they'd spent in any one place. But they'd all agreed that it was impossible for Liz to spend most of her pregnancy traveling around in a cramped van. So, they'd found this three- bedroom house in the country, and moved in.

They were far away from any neighbors. Max, Michael, and Isabel's ability to not only change their appearance but the others as well, gave them added insurance. Inside the house, they retained their original identities, but any time they went outside, they assumed new ones. They all used different names as well.

"Max!" Liz cried out suddenly, dropping the cup of ice she held, and pressing her hands to her stomach.

Max hurried to her side, reaching out to grab her hand, wincing slightly as she squeezed it tightly. She was panting hard, shifting restlessly on the bed.

"I think…I have to push." Liz gasped as she collapsed against the pillows.

"Let's check you again," Isabel suggested.

Liz nodded, caught up in the grip of another contraction. Max coached her through it, murmuring encouraging words in between breathing instructions. When this one had passed, Isabel checked her again.

Stunned by what she saw, Isabel said, "You're already at ten centimeters Liz. So, if you get the urge to push, then I want you to do so."

"Okay."

"Max, get up behind Liz. Let your body, along with the pillows support hers. Put your legs on either side of her and give her your hands to hold onto. Just like we practiced." Isabel instructed her brother as she and Maria prepared for the baby's impending arrival.

Max did as Isabel instructed, settling behind his wife and pulling her back to rest comfortably against him and the pillows. He lovingly coached her through every contraction, crooning words of support and even breathing with her when the pain got to be too much, and she forgot to breathe right.

"Push Liz, push!" Isabel told her sister-in-law as her niece or nephew's head began to crown.

Liz squeezed Max's hands as she focused all her attention and energy on bringing her and Max's baby into the world. A bolt of crackling energy swept through her and she heard Max cry out as the spark swept through him as well.

"Liz!" He cried out in alarm.

"Sorry."

Liz's alien powers hadn't sparked or triggered accidentally in the time they'd been away from Roswell. She'd learned to harness them when she needed them, and she worked to keep them under control, even as she focused all her attention on the task at hand.

"It's okay." Max soothed her." Your powers are connected to your emotions, and right now they're overwhelmed, so your control slipped a little."

Liz screamed as she gave one last push and felt another wave of energy flood over her. This wasn't the same electrical current connected to her powers, but something closer to Max's. They both had a moment to marvel over that before they heard the beautiful sound of their baby's first cry.  
Liz lay back against Max with an exhausted sigh.

Max kissed the side of her head. "You did it, Liz. You were amazing. I love you."

"I love you too, Max," Liz said wearily.

While Maria tended to the newborn, Isabel coached Liz through the motions of releasing the afterbirth. Then with Max's help, they got Liz cleaned up, changed the soiled bedding, and then got the new mother resettled on the bed.

Maria approached with the precious new family member in her arms. She set the tiny bundle into Liz's waiting arms. "You have a beautiful baby girl."

"We have a daughter, Max." Liz's voice was tremulous as she gazed in rapture at her newborn daughter's face.

"A daughter." Max murmured as he stared down at the cherubic features of his daughter.

Emotion flooded over him. He had a son and a daughter. He'd not gotten to see Zan come into the world. His son had been born on their native planet of Antar. He'd been reunited with him shortly when Tess brought him back to Earth. Upon learning that he was completely human, Max had made the heart-wrenching decision to give his son up to keep him safe from the alien hunters. He longed for his son more than he'd allowed himself to in a very long time. Zan would never know he had a little sister.

"Max?"

It took him a moment to realize Liz had said his name.

"You all right?" Liz studied him worriedly.

Max smiled to chase her worries away. "I'm more than all right. I have a beautiful wife and an adorable baby daughter."  
"Can we come in?" Kyle asked from the doorway.

Michael stood behind him, staring silently at the tiny bundle in Liz's arms. Maria gestured to them to enter while Isabel began cleaning up the aftermath of the birth.

"is it a boy or a girl?" Michael asked when he found his voice.

"You have a niece," Max grinned at him.

"What are you going to name her?" Kyle wanted to know.

Max glanced at Liz. She nodded. It was okay with her if he announced their daughter's name.

"Liz and I would you to meet Alexandra Maribel Evans. We'll call her Alexa. "

"Alex would love knowing that you named her after him," Maria said tearfully.

"Is Maribel…?" Isabel started to ask, but Liz gently cut her off.

"It is a combination of yours and Maria's first names. " Liz informed her. "You are both her aunts after all."

"We couldn't think of two stronger or braver women to name her after," Max added.

Isabel hugged him, then bent to kiss Liz's cheek.

Maria beamed at them both through her joyful tears.

"Can I hold her?" Michael asked.

"Sure," Max told him. He gently lifted Alexandra out of his wife's arms, savoring the feel of holding her to him, before he stepped toward Michael.  
He instructed Michael how to hold his arm and then placed his daughter in his best friend's arms. Michael felt his initial panic at holding someone so tiny fade instantly away as he stared down into his niece's dark eyes. He couldn't explain it, but he felt a sudden calming flood of warm energy flow over him.

"She's the prettiest baby I've ever seen." He said hoarsely.

"She takes after her mother," Max said.

"Okay, as much as I hate to break up this special bonding moment, I'm doing so. Liz and Alexxa need to rest after their ordeal, and everyone else needs to get some sleep too."

"Getting more shuteye sounds good to me," Michael said as he reluctantly relinquished his hold on Alexa to her beaming father.

Once his arms were free, he took Maria by the hand and led her out of Liz and Max's bedroom. Kyle followed them. Isabel gazed longingly at the tiny bundle in her brother's arms for a couple of minutes before exiting the room and leaving the new parents alone with their infant daughter.

"You were thinking about Zan weren't you?" Liz asked Max softly once they were alone.

"Yes," Max admitted, handing her Alexa so he could crawl onto the bed beside her. "I missed seeing him be born, and now I'm missing out on him growing up. I know I'm the one who insisted he be adopted, but it still hurts to know I'm never going to be a part of his life. Or he's never going to know he has a little sister. "  
"I believe that we will cross Zan's path again and he will know you as his biological father," Liz told him.

Max eyed her. "Did you have another vision?"

Liz shook her head. "Not a vision. Just a strong sense that we'll be reunited with him."

Her words were a balm to his soul. Liz had had enough visions come true over the past year, that Max believed her when she said he'd be reunited with Zan. "I'm going to hold onto that hope. Is there anything you want from the kitchen?"

"I have everything I want or need right here." Liz yawned, sliding carefully down until she was in a more prone position with baby Alexxa laying across her chest.

"You'll always have us." Max kissed her.

He scooted down until he was curled up on his side. He threw an arm around Liz and Alexa, as slumber settled over all three of them. He didn't know what the future held, but for now, everything was right in his world.


End file.
